Andersen responds to Beloki incident at Itzulia: 'I don’t believe I did anything wrong'

The moment occurred with around 45 kilometers remaining on a climb, when the Lidl-Trek team car made contact with Beloki, who was riding near the front of the race for EF Education-EasyPost. While the images appeared concerning, the impact was limited and the rider avoided crashing.

Beloki, visibly frustrated at the time, was able to continue and later finished 23rd on the stage.

Race officials subsequently sanctioned Andersen with a fine of 1000 Swiss francs, a yellow card and exclusion from the sixth stage for breaching vehicle movement regulations, leaving Lidl-Trek without a replacement car for the finale.

Speaking a week after the race, Andersen shared his account of events, suggesting the situation unfolded under relatively controlled circumstances.

“We were riding uphill on a wide road, so the speed was low. I had permission to move up to Mattias Skjelmose to speak with him. We were keeping a reasonable distance,” he explained to Feltet.dk.

“At that moment, all three of us in the car were focused on Skjelmose, so we were not looking straight ahead. Beloki suddenly dropped back after moving out, and when we came up alongside Skjelmose, he was no longer there.”

According to Andersen, the unexpected movement left little time to react, although he stressed that he was able to respond quickly enough to avoid a crash.

“Of course it is unfortunate. It also looks more dramatic on television because we were going so slowly. But I don’t believe I did anything wrong. It was just a racing situation.”

Despite more than two decades of experience in the convoy, Andersen said the incident itself did not feel as significant in the moment as the aftermath might suggest.

“It wasn’t something that made a big impression on us in the car, because it happened under calm circumstances. So when we reached the finish, we were quite surprised by the decision.”

While accepting the penalty, he also pointed out that similar or more dangerous situations are not uncommon in professional racing.

“I understand how it looks on TV, but in reality it was not as dramatic. I accept the punishment, but there are many other situations that are actually more dangerous than this one.”

Andersen is expected to return to the team car in the coming days, with Lidl-Trek shifting focus to the Ardennes Classics, including the Amstel Gold Race where Mattias Skjelmose will defend his title.